Court denies bail for Gauteng couple charged with child porn distribution

Darren Wilken and Tiona Moodley's bail applications have been denied.

Darren Wilken and Tiona Moodley's bail applications have been denied.

Published Feb 14, 2025

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The Randburg Magistrate's Court has denied bail for Darren Wilken and Tiona Moodley, a Gauteng couple accused of running a child pornography distribution operation.

In the ruling, handed down on Friday, Magistrate Pravina Raghunandan said the couple's release on bail would undermine public peace and safety and would jeopardise the interests of justice.

They are due back in court on March 24.

IOL previously reported that Wilken, 35, was arrested in Midrand on January 17. Moodley, 25, was arrested on January 23 in Houghton.

During Wilken's arrest, police said a team of investigators attached to the national and Gauteng provincial Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) units led by the Component Head for Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS), raided his home where they found a number of electronic devices suspected to contain child sexual abuse material were confiscated.

"A forensic analysis of these devices was conducted on scene by cyber crime experts, an estimated 10 million child pornography images and videos have been detected thus far," police said. 

A large amount of cash, believed to be the proceeds of crime, was also seized.

Moodley, a web designer was nabbed days later.